Irakelesh jumps up eagerly at the news of other adventurers. "We must go see these new people," he says with an abundance of cheer.
It takes him a few moments to straighten his clothes and comb his hair and tie it back. He adjusts Ai'sha's colorful scarf that he still has tied around his forehead so that the long part of the scarf hangs down below his long black hair. "Gotta look nice for the ladies." He winks at Ai'sha as she walks out the door.
Long strides bring Irakelesh down the stairs quickly and he immediately spots the group of women. He is especially drawn to the tall redhead. He swiftly moves to the group and announces himself with a dramatic bow.
"Ladies! I am Irakelesh, master investigator and seeker of many things curious and beautiful. And," he pauses for effect, "I seem to have found beautiful." He looks at the redhead directly and offers a charming smile.
"I feel as if there is more to that story than they are letting on." Aniva finds a table for all her friends.
"Nope, we didn't find any eyes!" Fitliss responds cheerfully. The bright gnome frowns for a moment. "Erudite Eye you say? I don't think I've heard of that, what is it?"
Ai'sha shrugs. "It seems I'm bothering you and your group."[b], she says, respectfully. [b]"I'll check in with the other groups but we can talk later if you want.", she forces a smile and walks away.
"Geez...What a jerk!", she mutters angrily to herself once she in the crowd and the Sand Scorpions can't hear her. Looking around at the room, she walks up to the Daughters of the Desert and stays behind Irakelesh, listening in silence.
The red-haired woman introduces herself as Sigurn, skald of the Linnorm Kingdoms. She also intimates that the blood of genies flows through her veins, hence her brilliant red hair. Her band consists of a barbarian, cleric if Iomedae, and two spellcasters wearing veils that obscure their features. Ai'sha walks up behind as Sigurn first lays eyes on the investigator.
Irakelesh's advances are met with the practiced response of playful flirting, a hint of what might be, but no promises or interest beyond that. Still, Sigurn is a witty and entertaining host, and she seems genuinely interested in hearing about your adventures. She claims they found nothing exciting in their tomb, but you can tell she's lying (and she knows that you know).
-----
Velriana seems disappointed, but not truly surprised. "The Erudite Eye refers to an ancient shrine or temple of Nethys. We would like to explore it to see if there are any artifacts that the church might be interested in procuring before somebody else finds them and sells them to the highest bidder."
"If you do hear of it, or manage to find it, we would pay a nice sum for information"
"Good luck finding it, I'll let you know if we do!" Fitliss promises cheerfully, shuffling to the next table.
"Ahhh. So you didn't find anything interesting?" Irakelesh winks at Sigurn then pulls up a seat at the table with the other ladies. He notices Ai'sha walking over and he pulls up a seat for her too. "Ai'sha, meet Sigurn. Sigurn, Ai'sha."
After a pause he adds, "So what tomb did you investigate in which there wasn't anything?"
Fitless nearly steps on a dog's tail as he moves to the table of halflings. As he opens his mouth to speak, the halflings slam their mugs on the table, and all raise their heads high, letting out a (drunken) series of howls and yells. Finishing, they all grab their ales again and one looks at Fitless, "Good evening, friend. Name's Marnn but everyone calls me Mad Dog, and you're standing beside the Dog Soldiers. Pardon our crying just now - lost some friends in today's battles. Here's hoping your day was better than ours!" he toasts Fitless and takes a long pull on his drink.
-----
Sigurn nods as Ai'sha, then grins at Irakelesh, "Weren't no tomb that we pulled, it was a house. But not just any house, it was the home of a moneylender! Unfortunately, this particular individual was probably the most paranoid and frightened mouse in all of Wati! Every other step was a trap of some kind or another - made for a tedious exploration."
She pauses, glances over at the Nethys worshippers, then leans a bit closer, "Say, you hear that one talk about the "Erudite Eye?" Sigurn whispers. "Just between us friends, I'd also like to know where's it located. So if you do find it, please think of me should you wish to reveal its location. I'll certainly make it worth your time."
-----
G'nock's table is soon spread with food and drink, most of which he finds tolerable. Throughout his meal, he keeps a sharp eye out for anything unusual or strange, but he doesn't ever see anything unusual enough to draw his attention.
Aliva will move over to sit with G'nock, "Every other team and most of ours are very social. I guess we don't have to worry about someone coming to our sites since they will be so busy with their own."
When Sigurn leans closer, Irakelesh also leans in so that their heads are almost touching. "Hmm. The Erudite Eye? I know that we didn't run into anything like that. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it." Irakelesh gently places his hand on Sigurn's hand that is resting on the table. "And rest assured, I'll always be thinking of you." He offers a charming smile and then sits back in his chair.
"I think of the flesh yes, i feel they won't abandon us in a dig though."
Fitliss grins at the halfling, joining the toast with a drink from his own mug, procured early in the night, but little drunk from. "Don't mourn too long, dying isn't as bad a everyone makes it out to be!" he says cheerfully, oblivious to the halfling's surprise at the comment. "We had a good day ourselves, aside from some people randomly disappearing and appearing, but I think that was unrelated to the tomb."
Sigurn smiles, "My thanks, both for keeping my request in mind, and for keeping it... discreet." She moves her eyes over toward the Nethys group, "They've been asking everyone about it, and I heard from somebody who heard from somebody else that they actually tried to bribe their way into getting selected to search for it. Authorities didn't really like that idea, told them no, and threatened to remove them from the lottery entirely if they tried anything else like that again."
Her face turns serious, "So for whatever reason, they really want to get in there, and they're willing to break the rules of this little event to get it."
Sigurn's face twists suddenly and she smiles again, "But hey, probably because it's full of some dusty domes extolling the virtues of their stuffy old god, right?" She gestures to the servers for another round of drinks, signalling that Irakelesh and Ai'sha should also get mugs on her tab.
-----
Mad Dog closes his right eye and stares at Fitless. After a moment, his left eye closes as well, followed quickly by a loud snore that jolts him awake. As his group laughs at his antics, he burps loudly and takes another drink. "Aye, you're right. Mourning is wasted on the living, am I right?! It's all about living, and we've got four more boys that'll be more than enough for any other monsters we turn up!"
His group alternates between cheering, drinking, and diving down on the floor to wrestle with the dogs. The reactions from their pets indicate this activity is one they're familiar with, and they enthusiastically begin rolling around while slobbering all over their owners.
Mad Dog slaps the table, "Oh hey, are you friends with those tall ones over there? We found something you might like. It's a bow - big one, too tall for us to use. You know anybody who might want it? We'll part with it at a good price - rather have some fellow explorers use it than sell it to one of those leeches in the market stalls."
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"Yup, a few of them. I think G'nock, that's the lizardfolk over there, has been using one a lot. I'll ask him about it," Fitliss turns to leave, and then stops, remembering something. [b]"Hey, what's it do? I can't exactly ask if he wants it without knowing what it does."
Irakelesh listens attentively to Sigurn. At the mention of another round of drinks he raises his mug. "Hear, hear!" Let's drink to new found friends!"
Mad Dog shakes his head, "No clue, none of us were strong enough to put a string on it. Looks like a crooked stick right now."
-----
"I am glad that I have someone less, "overly social" to sit and converse with." Aliva looks at G'nock
"That sounds like a good deal to me! I'll go talk to the others, but I think you've got yourselves a buyer!" Fitliss raises another toast to his new friends as he walks off, in the opposite direction of where Aliva and G'nock are sitting. Eventually, Fitliss manages to find his way to them, and explains about the bow.
Irakelesh continues to enjoy the company of Sigurn and her friends. Around midnight, he notices that the barkeep is trying to close things up. "Well. Looks like this is it for tonight." He raises his mug to the northern ladies then throws back the rest of his drink. He stands and bows. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around as we all continue to explore this area."
After completely his goodbyes and before heading up to his room, he scans the room for any of his adventuring buddies.
Ai'sha has some small talk with Sigurn and her allies, and even tries her best not to ruin Irakelesh's chances with the lady (it would be fun, though).
"I haven't seen many people that look this similar to me.", she comments, as they're heading back to their room. "Guess I might have some genie blood as well, for my hair..."
Aliva will get up and walk over to the seller with G'Nock and Fits
Mad Dog reaches behind his seat and retrieves an unstrung recurve bow with limbs that have folded forward nearly into a circle. The limbs are broad and made from layers of a dark red wood. The black grip appears to be made from an animal's horn. A number of small symbols are carved into the upper and lower limbs, though it is hard to make them out until the bow is actually strung.
ALiva looks over the bow, "Milani allow me to see the magical energies infusing this bow."
In the morning, you return to the site of the lottery to learn the location of your next exploration site. The priests hand you a map and inform you that the site is an estate likely belonging to a minor member of the noble class.
The map is rough, but accurate, and you have soon arrived at your destination. Sandstone walls ten feet high enclose this estate, affording those who once lived inside some privacy. A two-story stone house is visible beyond the walls, adjoining the rear wall of the property. In the center of the estate’s southern wall stands a pair of tarnished bronze gates hanging partially open. A pair of statues flanks the gate. Dusty hieroglyphs are carved into the wall at eye level to the left of the gate.
The gates are decrepit and twisted. They are so malformed that they cannot be secured.
Entering the estate, you find dust and sand covering the ground of this small courtyard. To the east and west stand pairs of columns, once brightly painted and now bleached from the sun, which support stone archways leading to other section of the property. Tarnished bronze gates hang open under both arches. To the north, a small flight of steps leads up to a pair of ornate doors in the south wall of the house between another set of columns.
"I will take the lead, please just watch my flank." Aliva will approach the front doors, pushing them open with her Morning star.
As they approach the walled house Irakelesh stops to read the inscriptions on the statues. He points to the two bronze statues on either side of the gate, "They are from the house of Pentheru. The Elder and the Younger. Does that mean anything to any of you?"
Irakelesh cocks his head to the side trying to hear the crowd that G'nock is referring to.
"G'nock, my good man. I mean, lizard. I do believe you are hearing things. I hear nothing. And besides, you're supposed to be watching Aliva's flank."
Aliva stops dead when G'nock says he hears something, "Do you mean inside or the other side of the building?" Aliva whispers?
"I also think you're hearing things, G'nock...Lets just open the gates."
"I'm going to trust G'nock on this one, if he says he heard something, then I think he heard something." Fitliss declares, looking around for what he assumes to be a large argument. Seeing no one immediately, he hobbles up to the front next to Aliva.
Ai'sha draws her scimitar.
"If you really heard something, I bet its trouble coming our way...Lets be prepared..."
"Oh, all right. I'll play along." Irakelesh flips his shortbow from his shoulder and nocks an arrow. "If anyone tries to get us in here, I'll be ready."
"This whole thing is going to be trouble but I think we signed up for some trouble." Aliva stops in the door way, waiting for the others to make their decisions.
G’nock leads you slowly back the way you came in, heading directly toward the entrance and the ruined gate. As you approach, a strong gust of wind catches you from the west, carrying with it the roaring of an angry mob. But despite the sounds you hear, you do not see anybody else around.
Other voices cry out from behind you in a language you don’t understand, ”Aaxd tax gttxs! Uant xwt taxm bnsbdx tax xsatix!” These voices, like those of the mob, seem to emanate from thin air.
The voices of the mob get louder and louder as the strange voices behind you continue to shout. A resounding “BOOM!” slams into the gate, causing the ruined iron to violently shake.
“BOOM!” causes the other gate to shudder.
“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!” Even more powerful blows shake and rattle the gates – it seems like they will fly apart at any moment!
“BOOOOM!” A resounding crash sends both of the gates into convulsions as they swing all the way back to slam against the inside of the estate’s outer wall. The cries and screams of the mob join with the others in a cacophony of chaotic sound and madness.
Aliva runs towards the entrance of the building, pushing the doors open and going inside, she hides behind the wall out of sight of the main entrance to the villa.
When the booming starts Irakelesh starts to look around. Then he hears the mob noises. But they fade away quickly. "What was that?" He sees Aliva race into the building. "Aliva, come back. It wasn't real."
"Well that was certainly intersting!" Fitliss enthuses. "Wait, where'd Aliva go?'
The room to the north appears to be some kind of atrium or inner courtyard with a large area of dirt in the center and an open roof. The room to the west contains an ornate staircase leading up to the second floor. The room to the east has a raised tile-covered pool of water that appears to be some kind of communal bath.
The final item of note in this room are four skeletons standing against the pillars, one of which stands beside your hastily chosen hiding place. All of the skeletons wear armor and hold broken khopesh swords in both hands crossed over their chests. The eye sockets of all four skeletons begin glowing as their heads slowly turn toward you.